RAD LIFE

Sydney’s Tom ‘Loud’ Lowndes only has one wish for his Hot Dub Time Machine shows, that they’ll be the ‘Best. Party. Ever.’ To achieve this, logically it means that every show needs to be better than the last, and given that Hot Dub Wine Machine at McLaren Vale last year featured only a one hour set from Loud (and saw for a lot of quietly miffed fans), it wasn’t going to be hard for this show to be better. Loud’s effort to make it up to his Adelaide fans paid off, seeing for what could legitimately be called one of the Best. Parties. Ever.

The promise of a full length, old-school intimate Hot Dub show was organised with the intention to be a tribute to the town that is always skipped or overlooked by lots of tours and festivals, the town that gave him his start (Hot Dub began in the Garden of Unearthly Delights at the Adelaide Fringe in 2011), his favourite venue, and his favourite audience.

For two and a half hours, the audience were treated to Loud’soriginal time travelling, ‘dance-through-the-decades’ audio-visual party concept, where songs from every decade and genre of music were showcased. All of the common elements of a classic Hot Dub show were present – a sensational set list that was 99% comprised of tunes that no one can help but sing and dance along to, enrapturing projections of music videos from every song that played, overlapped with lyrics and instructions, interspersed with clips of Hot Dub Cabin Attendant and Time Lord Lulu Loud.

Special effects including the 99 red balloons drop, streamer cannons, smoke machines, big beach balls, and a colourful light show; and a non-stop singing and dancing DJ Loud, who emitted endless infectious energy like the seasoned show pro he is. But there were also some new additions to the favourite Hot Dub formula, in the form of features from local musos Luke Million and Wes Carr, who helped take the set to the next level with their killer key-tar and reverberating rock voice respectively.

All these elements together created a great party experience, not unlike a party where you spend the whole night on the dance-floor no matter how much you need to pee, need another drink, or need to sit down, because the DJ keeps playing banger after banger. This was obvious in that the crowd never seemed to thin at any moment in the set. All up, Loud’s wish for his Hot Dub Time Machine to be the ‘Best. Party. Ever.’ came true once again on this evening, and he’s left many a Radeladian party-goer eager for his return to head off on the next musical journey through time.

Reviewed Saturday the 14th of April at the Thebarton Theatre.Thumbnail via Hot Dub Time Machine Facebook page

What happens when pure comedy takes human form? What happens when a creature is created and bred to do stand up? Nobody knows because that isn’t a thing. What is a thing is Ross Noble doing a show. You can come and see. This is it.